I included Led Zeppelin II instead of Led Zeppelin I because it has much more original material and I consider it a superior album. For those who would've voted for Zep I....fuck you. Also, I DID include a live album this time, MC5's Kick Out the Jams because...fuck you. That's all. I like a lot of these albums and I'm tired.
Omissions:
# Led Zeppelin * Led Zeppelin I (Altantic)
# Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band * Trout Mask Replica (Reprise)
# John McLaughlin * Extrapolation (Polydor)
# Funkadelic (Westbound)
# The Stooges (Elektra)
# Jimmy Cliff * Wonderful World, Beautiful People (Island/Trojan)
# The Tony Williams Lifetime * Emergency (Polydor)
# Euphoria * A Gift From Euphoria (Capitol)
# Velvet Underground * VU (Verve)
# Can * Monster Movie (Spoon/Mute)
# The Upsetters * Return of Django (Trojan)
# Os Mutantes * Mutantes (Omplatten)
# Caetano Veloso (Philips)
# The Impressions * The Young Mods' Forgotten Story (Curtom)
# The Meters * Look A-Py Py (Josie)
# Amon Duul II * Phallus Dei (High Tide)
# Nico * The Marble Index (Elektra)
# Rico & The Rudies * Blow Your Horn (Trojan)
# Tim Buckley * Happy/Sad (Elektra)
# David Axelrod * Songs Of Experience (Capitol)
# Miles Davis * In A Silent Way (Columbia)
# Sonny Sharrock * Black Woman (Vortex)
# Gilberto Gil (Philips)
# Caetano Veloso (Philips)
# Dr. John The Night Tripper * Babylon (Wounded Bird)
# Scott Walker * Scott 4 (Fontana)
# Gal Costa (Philips)
# Laura Nyro * New York Tendaberry (Columbia)
# King Crimson * In The Court Of The Crimson King (EG)
# The Art Ensemble Of Chicago * People In Sorrow (Nessa)
# Fairport Convention * Unhalfbricking (Hannibal)
# Miles Davis * Filles de Killimanjaro (Columbia)
# Tyrannosaurus Rex * Unicorn (A&M)
# Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin (Virgin Fr)
# The Art Ensemble Of Chicago * Eda Wobu (JMY)
# Syd Barrett * The Madcap Laughs (EMI)
# The Meters * The Meters (Josie)
# The Isley Brothers * It's Our Thing (Epic)
# The Soft Machine * Vol. 2 (One Way)
# The Sir Douglas Quintet * Mendocino (Smash)
# The Deviants * Deviants (Sire/Line)
# Fairport Convention * Liege and Lief (A&M)
# Jefferson Airplane * Volunteers (RCA)
# The Flying Burrito Brothers * The Gilded Palace Of Sin (Reprise)
# Neil Young * Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Reprise)
# Tyrone Davis * Can I Change Your Mind (Brunswick)
# Steve Miller Band * Brave New World (Capitol)
# Brigitte Fontaine * Brigitte Fontaine Est . . . Folle (Saravah)
# Howard Tate * Reaction (Koch)
# Donovan * Barabajagal (Epic)
# Jack Bruce * Songs For A Tailor (PolyGram)
# The Pretty Things * Parachute (Harvest)
# Velvet Underground * Another View (Verve)
# Rod Stewart * The Rod Stewart Album (Mercury)
# Lee Perry & The Upsetters * The Upsetter (Trojan)
# Dave Barker Meets The Upsetters * Prisoner Of Love (Trojan)
# The Isley Brothers * Brothers: Isley (Epic)
# Mott The Hoople (Atlantic)
# David Bowie * Space Oddity (Virgin)
# Fairport Convention * What We Did on Our Holidays (Hannibal)
# Ornette Coleman * New York Is Now! (Blue Note)
# Ornette Coleman * Love Call (Blue Note)
# Harry Nilsson * Harry (RCA)
# Van Der Graaf Generator * Least We Can Do Is Wave (Charisma/Blue Plate)
# The Nazz * Nazz Nazz (Rhino)
# Neil Young (Reprise)
# The Youngbloods * Elephant Mountain (RCA)
# Alexander Spence * Oar (Sony/Sundazed)
# Silver Apples * Contact (TRC)
# The Move * Shazam (Westside)
# Isaac Hayes * Hot Buttered Soul (Stax)
# John Cale * Vintage Violence (Columbia)
# Dusty Springfield * Dusty In Memphis (Atlantic)
# Aretha Franklin * Soul '69 (Atlantic)
# Scott Walker * Scott 3 (Fontana/Mercury)
# Leonard Cohen * Songs From A Room (Columbia)
# Free (A&M)
# Chick Corea * Is (Solid State)
# Chick Corea * Sundance (People)
# Dexter Gordon * Tower of Power (Prestige)
# Albert Ayler Trio * Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe (Impulse)
# Kevin Ayers * Joy Of A Toy (BGO)
# Gene Chandler * The Two Sides Of Gene Chandler (Brunswick/Demon)
# Herbie Hancock * The Prisoner (Blue Note)
# Spooky Tooth * Spooky Two (A&M)
# Alice Cooper * Pretties For You (Straight/Rhino)
# Steve Miller Band * Your Saving Grace (Capitol)
# The Bonzo Dog Band * Urban Spaceman (One Way)
# Plastic Ono Band * Live Peace In Toronto (Apple)
# Screamin' Jay Hawkins * What That Is! (Phillips)
# The Bonzo Dog Band * Tadpoles (One Way)
# The Bee Gees * Odessa (Polydor)
# The Doors * The Soft Parade (Elektra)
# The Moody Blues * On The Threshold Of A Dream (Decca/Deram)
# Dave Peel & the Lower East Side * Have A Marijuana (Elektra)
# The Turtles * Turtle Soup (White Whale)
# Roy Harper * Folkjokeopus (Griffin)
# The Shaggs * Philosophy of the World (RCA)
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Quote:
The last Beatles album to be recorded (although Let It Be was the last to be released), Abbey Road was a fitting swan song for the group, echoing some of the faux-conceptual forms of Sgt. Pepper, but featuring stronger compositions and more rock-oriented ensemble work. The group was still pushing forward in all facets of its art, whether devising some of the greatest harmonies to be heard on any rock record (especially on "Because"), constructing a medley of songs/vignettes that covered much of side two, adding subtle touches of Moog synthesizer, or crafting furious guitar-heavy rock ("The End," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," "Come Together"). George Harrison also blossomed into a major songwriter, contributing the buoyant "Here Comes the Sun" and the supremely melodic ballad "Something," the latter of which became the first Harrison-penned Beatles hit. Whether Abbey Road is the Beatles' best work is debatable, but it's certainly the most immaculately produced (with the possible exception of Sgt. Pepper) and most tightly constructed.
The Velvet Underground - The Velvet UndergroundQuote:
Upon first release, The Velvet Underground's self-titled third album must have surprised their fans nearly as much as their first two albums shocked the few mainstream music fans who heard them. After testing the limits of how musically and thematically challenging rock could be on The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light/White Heat, this 1969 release sounded spare, quiet, and contemplative, as if the previous albums documented some manic speed-fueled party and this was the subdued morning after. (The album's relative calm has often been attributed to the departure of the band's most committed avant-gardist, John Cale, in the fall of 1968; the arrival of new bassist Doug Yule; and the theft of the band's amplifiers shortly before they began recording.) But Lou Reed's lyrical exploration of the demimonde is as keen here as on any album he ever made, while displaying a warmth and compassion he sometimes denied his characters. "Candy Says," "Pale Blue Eyes," and "I'm Set Free" may be more muted in approach than what the band had done in the past, but "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" made it clear the VU still loved rock & roll, and "The Murder Mystery" (which mixes and matches four separate poetic narratives) is as brave and uncompromising as anything on White Light/White Heat. This album sounds less like The Velvet Underground than any of their studio albums, but it's as personal, honest, and moving as anything Lou Reed ever committed to tape.
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II Quote:
Recorded quickly during Led Zeppelin's first American tours, Led Zeppelin II provided the blueprint for all the heavy metal bands that followed it. Since the group could only enter the studio for brief amounts of time, most of the songs that compose II are reworked blues and rock & roll standards that the band was performing on-stage at the time. Not only did the short amount of time result in a lack of original material, it made the sound more direct. Jimmy Page still provided layers of guitar overdubs, but the overall sound of the album is heavy and hard, brutal and direct. "Whole Lotta Love," "The Lemon Song," and "Bring It on Home" are all based on classic blues songs -- only, the riffs are simpler and louder and each song has an extended section for instrumental solos. Of the remaining six songs, two sport light acoustic touches ("Thank You," "Ramble On"), but the other four are straight-ahead heavy rock that follows the formula of the revamped blues songs. While Led Zeppelin II doesn't have the eclecticism of the group's debut, it's arguably more influential. After all, nearly every one of the hundreds of Zeppelin imitators used this record, with its lack of dynamics and its pummeling riffs, as a blueprint.
The Rolling Stones - Let It BleedQuote:
Mostly recorded without Brian Jones -- who died several months before its release (although he does play on two tracks) and was replaced by Mick Taylor (who also plays on just two songs) -- this extends the rock and blues feel of Beggars Banquet into slightly harder-rocking, more demonically sexual territory. The Stones were never as consistent on album as their main rivals, the Beatles, and Let It Bleed suffers from some rather perfunctory tracks, like "Monkey Man" and a countrified remake of the classic "Honky Tonk Woman" (here titled "Country Honk"). Yet some of the songs are among their very best, especially "Gimme Shelter," with its shimmering guitar lines and apocalyptic lyrics; the harmonica-driven "Midnight Rambler"; the druggy party ambience of the title track; and the stunning "You Can't Always Get What You Want," which was the Stones' "Hey Jude" of sorts, with its epic structure, horns, philosophical lyrics, and swelling choral vocals. "You Got the Silver" (Keith Richards' first lead vocal) and Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," by contrast, were as close to the roots of acoustic down-home blues as the Stones ever got.
MC5 - Kick Out the JamsQuote:
Rather than try to capture their legendary on-stage energy in a studio, MC5 opted to record their first album during a live concert at their home base, Detroit's Grande Ballroom, and while some folks who were there have quibbled that Kick Out the Jams isn't the most accurate representation of the band's sound, it's certainly the best of the band's three original albums, and easily beats the many semiauthorized live recordings of MC5 that have emerged in recent years, if only for the clarity of Bruce Botnick's recording. From Brother J.C. Crawford's rabble-rousing introduction to the final wash on feedback on "Starship," Kick Out the Jams is one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made; Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith were a lethal combination on tightly interlocked guitars, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were as strong a rhythm section as Detroit ever produced, and Rob Tyner's vocals could actually match the soulful firepower of the musicians, no small accomplishment. Even on the relatively subdued numbers (such as the blues workout "Motor City Is Burning"), the band sound like they're locked in tight and cooking with gas, while the full-blown rockers (pretty much all of side one) are as gloriously thunderous as anything ever committed to tape; this is an album that refuses to be played quietly. For many years, Detroit was considered the High Energy Rock & Roll Capital of the World, and Kick Out the Jams provided all the evidence anyone might need for the city to hold onto the title.
Sly and the Family Stone - Stand!Quote:
Stand! is the pinnacle of Sly & the Family Stone's early work, a record that represents a culmination of the group's musical vision and accomplishment. Life hinted at this record's boundless enthusiasm and blurred stylistic boundaries, yet everything simply gels here, resulting in no separation between the astounding funk, effervescent irresistible melodies, psychedelicized guitars, and deep rhythms. Add to this a sharpened sense of pop songcraft, elastic band interplay, and a flowering of Sly's social conscious, and the result is utterly stunning. Yes, the jams ("Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey," "Sex Machine") wind up meandering ever so slightly, but they're surrounded by utter brilliance, from the rousing call to arms of "Stand" to the unification anthem "Everyday People" to the unstoppable "I Want to Take You Higher." All of it sounds like the Family Stone, thanks not just to the communal lead vocals but to the brilliant interplay, but each track is distinct, emphasizing a different side of their musical personality. As a result, Stand! winds up infectious and informative, invigorating and thought-provoking -- stimulating in every sense of the word. Few records of its time touched it, and Sly topped it only by offering its opposite the next time out.
The Kinks - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)(no allmusic review)
The Who - TommyQuote:
The full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom, written almost entirely by Pete Townshend. Hailed as a breakthrough upon its release, its critical standing has diminished somewhat in the ensuing decades because of the occasional pretensions of the concept and because of the insubstantial nature of some of the songs that functioned as little more than devices to advance the rather sketchy plot. Nonetheless, the double album has many excellent songs, including "I'm Free," "Pinball Wizard," "Sensation," "Christmas," "We're Not Gonna Take It," and the dramatic ten-minute instrumental "Underture." Though the album was slightly flawed, Townshend's ability to construct a lengthy conceptual narrative brought new possibilities to rock music. Despite the complexity of the project, he and the Who never lost sight of solid pop melodies, harmonies, and forceful instrumentation, imbuing the material with a suitably powerful grace.
The Band - The BandQuote:
The Band's first album, Music From Big Pink, seemed to come out of nowhere, with its ramshackle musical blend and songs of rural tragedy. The Band, the group's second album, was a more deliberate and even more accomplished effort, partially because the players had become a more cohesive unit and partially because guitarist Robbie Robertson had taken over the songwriting, writing or co-writing all 12 songs. Though a Canadian, Robertson focused on a series of American archetypes from the union worker in "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" and the retired sailor in "Rockin' Chair" to, most famously, the Confederate Civil War observer Virgil Cane in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." The album effectively mixed the kind of mournful songs that had dominated Music From Big Pink, here including "Whispering Pines" and "When You Awake" (both co-written by Richard Manuel), with rollicking uptempo numbers like "Rag Mama Rag" and "Up on Cripple Creek" (both sung by Levon Helm and released as singles, with "Up on Cripple Creek" making the Top 40). As had been true of the first album, it was the Band's sound that stood out the most, from Helm's (and occasionally Manuel's) propulsive drumming to Robertson's distinctive guitar fills and the endlessly inventive keyboard textures of Garth Hudson, all topped by the rough, expressive singing of Manuel, Helm, and Rick Danko that mixed leads with harmonies. The arrangements were simultaneously loose and assured, giving the songs a timeless appeal, while the lyrics continued to paint portraits of 19th century rural life (especially Southern life, as references to Tennessee and Virginia made clear), its sometimes less savory aspects treated with warmth and humor.
